


Late Night Worries

by Vanilla_Lips



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Comfort, Late Night Conversations, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:55:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28204215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanilla_Lips/pseuds/Vanilla_Lips
Summary: “What are you doing awake?” He whispered. Lev jumped back, grabbing his shirt in fright. Seeing him, he let out a breath and relaxed.-----Yaku can't sleep at the training camp and finds Lev stressing in the hallway. He consoles him.
Relationships: Haiba Lev/Yaku Morisuke
Comments: 3
Kudos: 113





	Late Night Worries

It had been a long day at the training camp, but despite his exhaustion, Yaku couldn’t get himself to fall asleep. It was a humid night, and especially stuffy in the classroom where their team were staying, so no matter how much he shuffled and adjusted himself, he could not for the life of him get comfortable. The rest of the team had drifted off quite a while ago, leaving Yaku alone and frustrated. He huffed, staring at the dark ceiling of the classroom. 

He perked up as he heard movement from the other side of the room, and watched a dark figure stand and creep towards the door. The door opened, illuminating the room with the hallway lights, and Lev stepped out, before quietly shutting the door behind him and sending the room back into darkness. 

Where was he off to? Yaku wondered. The bathroom, most likely, he reasoned, but as the minutes ticked by he grew restless. Surely he wouldn’t be taking that long? The urge to investigate grew, and Yaku, who wasn’t going to fall asleep anytime soon and had nothing better to do, decided to follow him. 

He kicked off his sheets, carefully navigating his way through the maze of sleeping bodies before making his way out the door. He squinted his eyes at the fluorescent lights, waiting for them to adjust, and then went on a search for Lev. 

Yaku found him around the corner and down the hall, standing at an open window and staring out at the dark sports field below. He was dressed in his pyjamas, checked boxers and a plain white shirt. His silver hair was disheveled from sleep, but was further displaced as Lev raked his fingers through it anxiously. He approached Lev. 

“What are you doing awake?” He whispered. Lev jumped back, grabbing his shirt in fright. Seeing him, he let out a breath and relaxed. 

“Oh! Yaku-san, I didn’t see you there. Sorry, I couldn’t sleep.” He turned his eyes back to the darkness outside. The breeze blew softly through the window, cool and refreshing, and a nice break from the stifling humidity. Lev was silent for a moment. “Hey Yaku-san… do you think I deserve to be on the starting line-up?”

“No.” Lev’s eyes widened for a moment before he turned them down to his hands. 

“Oh.” The hurt was visible on his face, but despite it he plastered on a small smile. “Y-yeah, that’s fair...um… you can go back to bed now, I’ll come back in a little while I promise.”

“Wait, wait,” Yaku said, seeing that Lev was actually upset about this, he backtracked. “I didn’t mean that.” He lent against the window sill beside Lev. “So what, you’re out here because you’re stressing over whether you deserve to be on the line-up?”

“Yeah.” Lev shrugged. “I guess.”

“Why?”

“It’s just… I haven’t been playing volleyball for very long, and yeah, I’m the tallest on the team and I know there’s value in that, but is my height really that valuable when there are people on the bench _way_ more skilled than am I? Don’t they deserve it more?” Lev stared at him, eyes wide and questioning. Self doubt was a strange look on Lev, Yaku thought quietly to himself. He was always such a happy-go-lucky, carefree guy. It was a little disconcerting to see him so dejected. 

“Okay, first,” Yaku began, “regardless of your current skill level, you have a lot of potential, and everyone on the team can see that. What you lack in experience and technique, you make up for in your reflexes, natural agility and strength. 

“And second, it’s not always about ‘deserving’ it. Did I deserve to be on the starting line-up in my first year because I was the only libero on the team?”

“But you’re a really strong libero! Of course you did!” Lev interjected. 

“I wasn’t always strong though. Believe it or not, there was a point in time where I was just as bad as you at receiving.” Yaku paused. “Well, maybe not _that_ bad. I don’t think anyone could be as bad as you at receiving.” He nudged Lev softly with his shoulder and he returned the gesture, smiling slightly. 

“The point I’m trying to make is, sometimes in life, you’re not ‘deserving’ of the roles you take up. There’s a position that you’re able to fill, regardless of whether you think other people could fill it better, the team wants _you_ to do it.” Yaku turned his gaze to the window, the cool breeze brushing against his face. “You don’t turn up worthy of the role you fill, but to deserve it, you need to put in the effort. Work hard and improve yourself, and then you’ll deserve the position. Do you understand?” Lev nodded slowly. 

“Yes… yeah, you’re right, and I get what you’re saying.” He fiddled with his hands. “I just can’t help but feel a little guilty. Like for Inuoka, I know that he had my position before I joined the team, I feel like I stole it from him.”

“Has he said anything about that?”

“Huh?” Lev said. 

“Has he acted like he’s upset about it? Has Inuoka or any of the other first years said anything?”

“Well, no––”

“And they’ve been nothing but supportive?” Yaku interrupted.

“... yes?”

“Then don’t worry about their feelings.” He said firmly. “You took Inuoka’s position when you joined the team, but he’s not going to be on the bench forever. Who do you think is going to fill the other middle blocker position when Kuroo graduates?”

“... Inuoka.” Lev relented. 

“Exactly. I’m sure Inuoka realises this as well, and doesn’t hold any ill feelings towards you. He probably feels a little jealous, but that’s natural and it’s not your place to worry about him. But, if you’re really that concerned, you can always talk to him about it.” Lev hummed in thought. 

“Okay, yeah, I might do that.” He took a deep breath and exhaled. “Thank you, I feel a lot better after talking to you about this.” Yaku waved him off.

“Of course, it’s what any great senpai would do. Which I am by the way, great.” Lev chuckled softly at that. “Do you want to go back to bed now?” 

“I think I’ll stay up a little longer if that’s okay.” Lev said. “I need to digest what we’ve talked about.”

“Alright. Do you want me to leave then?” Lev gave the windowsill a squeeze. 

“Could you… stay a while longer?” He asked hesitantly. “I thought I wanted to be alone, but your company makes me feel a lot better.” There was a strange sincerity in his request, a vulnerability that could be heard in his voice, and possibly something more. Yaku, tired but enjoying the coolness of the open window, didn’t particularly want to go back to bed, especially considering that Lev seemed to be in a fragile state of mind. 

“Yeah, sure.”

\-----

They stared out the window in silence for a little while, listening to the peace of the night. Across the field, too dark for Yaku to make out, the trees were rustling softly in the wind, the only sound punctuating the quiet. The two of them weren’t really allowed to be hanging around in the hallway this late, but Yaku wasn’t particularly worried about getting caught. It was a beautiful night, and it was nice to spend it quietly with someone else. After a while, Lev spoke again. 

“You know, when I first met you, I thought you were a little cranky and mean, a bit like a bitter old man,” He smiled to himself. “But, you’re actually a lot nicer than you give yourself credit for.”

“I can’t even tell if that was a compliment or not.” Lev laughed. “ _When I first met you Lev, I thought that you were incredibly annoying, but now that I know you better, you’re actually more annoying than I could have ever imagined_ ” He mocked. 

“You put up with me though.” Lev said.

“Barely.”

“Sometimes I think you might even like me.”

“I have no idea what could possibly give that idea.”

“Yeah.” Lev said, stroking his chin in thought. “Maybe you’re right. Looks like you’re just the bitter old man I always knew you were.” To that, Yaku elbowed him in the side. 

“Ah!” He squawked. “Violent as well, your cruelty is truly never ending.”

“Alright smart-ass, watch the mouth, or you’ll spend your extra practice time tomorrow running laps.”

“I’m terrified.” Lev quipped, and Yaku kicked him in the shin. 

“Enough sass from you.” He snapped, though Yaku couldn’t hide the humour in his voice. “Bed time now.”

“Roger that.” Yaku gave him a small push towards their room, and the two of them made their way back, Yaku’s hand resting against his spine. The gesture was strangely affectionate, but he reasoned that he was in a strange mood tonight anyway. They reached the door to their room, but before they opened it, Lev turned to him and whispered. 

“Thank you again, for tonight. I feel a lot better after talking to you. You’re really good at giving advice, you know.”

“Yeah, anytime.”

“And,” Lev bit his lip, looking a little bashful. “If you ever need someone to talk to as well, I’m here.” Yaku blinked.

“Oh, um, thank you.” Lev smiled, reaching his hand out and giving his shoulder a squeeze, before opening the door and disappearing into the darkness of the room. Yaku followed a moment later and settled into his bed, feeling a little more content that he did earlier.

**Author's Note:**

> Back again with another short story! 
> 
> I wrote this one fairly quickly, but I don't really feel like it's anything that special. I've been writing a lot of very short fics recently, I'd like to write some longer ones, but I don't really have any ideas. I'm open to suggestions though. 
> 
> As always, comments/criticism/feedback is always appreciated, I hope you enjoyed this fic, and have a nice day!


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